


Hugs With Mugs

by storyofmine



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Barista!Harry, Fluff, M/M, birthday fic, niall likes pretending to be mysterious but he's just a dork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-20 16:15:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17625614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storyofmine/pseuds/storyofmine
Summary: Harry has a little crush on the customer who doesn't want to tell him his real name.





	Hugs With Mugs

**Author's Note:**

> My boy turned 25 today which means it's time to write a fluffy Narry OneShot forr all of you to read.
> 
> Have fun.

Ever since Harry first stepped foot into a coffee shop, he fell in love with the calm and quiet atmosphere and the variety of people spending their time in this peaceful haven. It almost seemed magical that however hectic it might be on the other side of the entrance, as soon as you enter the building everything quietens down and the stress is kept outside.

If he were to count every hour he had spent in a coffee shop the last 24 years, it would add up to be a very high number.

It wasn’t a surprise to anyone who knew him to hear about his decision to work at his favourite, cozy coffee shop right in the centre of town. To be completely honest, it didn’t pay that well and sometimes there was a customer who believed he’d gotten a different coffee to the one he ordered just because it didn’t taste the way the ones tasted at all the disgustingly expensive chain shops.

No, “Hugs With Mugs” was an overly old-fashioned shop that refused to use the latest and most modern machinery for brewing coffee. That’s exactly why most of the customers were regulars, stopping by almost every day to buy the usual coffee and Harry could recall almost all of their names which he was very proud of. He’d also learnt that regular customers appreciated him already knowing their name and order, creating a familiar atmosphere.

Whenever the little bell above the door rang to announce the entrance of another customer, Harry’s head shot up from his work and a smile spread across his face as soon as he saw who it was. It was something his boss complimented him for and it became completely normal for Harry to get his long hair ruffled in praise.

Today turned out to be a slow day. Snow was falling feather like from the sky, coating the streets and buildings in a layer of white and those who didn’t need to go outside, stayed home, leaving the “Hugs With Mugs” almost empty.

Harry was swaying from left to right, listening to the soft music coming from the speakers from all around the shop and making sure the customers who had decided to leave the safety of their homes were content. The clock on the wall above the trusty coffee brewer ticked by, showing it was nearing 10am which usually marked prime time but not today.

He was cleaning the dishes - mostly mugs - when suddenly the door opened, making the bell above it ring and letting in the cold from outside for just a second before a man had entered and closed the door quickly.

Without thinking about it, Harry looked up, smile already forming on his lips to greet the customer but it almost fell instantly. He had never seen this guy with brown hair and startling blue eyes but he sure hoped he’d see him again and again and maybe a fourth time.

The corners of the man’s eyes crinkled because of his dazzling smile while he made his way over to the counter where Harry stood frozen, too shocked by the man’s beauty to think about what he was supposed to do.

‘Act normal, Harold’ he scolded himself, shaking his head curtly and putting the mug he had just cleaned next to other ones while hanging the dishcloth on the hanger. Except- the other way around. The mug fell down and shattered into a thousand pieces all across the floor behind the counter.

“Shit!” Harry cursed. He was about to bend down but a quick shout of “Whoa, what’d you think you’re doing, mate?” made him straighten up again and look over to the man on the other side of the wooden counter who, Harry had noticed instantly, spoke with an Irish accent. He regarded Harry with a disbelieving look as if to ask what the hell was wrong with the barista.

“Ehm”, Harry stuttered out, fidgeting with his fingers. He couldn’t believe how nervous the man made him. Yeah, whenever there was an attractive person talking to him, he was a bit speechless but he’d never felt nervous or was this clumsy. “Cleaning up?” he answered, making it sound like a question.

“Maybe use a broom instead of your hands. Might be less bloody” the brown haired man suggested with a slight smirk, making Harry feel a blush rising to his cheeks. He nodded.

“Of course” he mumbled but decided to clean up after serving the customer. “What can I get you?” he asked.

The guy chuckled lowly before ordering a large white filter coffee. Classical.

“And who’s the coffee for?” Harry asked, taking a paper cup and pen to write the man’s name on it. He couldn’t deny the curiosity he felt about getting to know the name of this pretty man.

“Batman.”

The pen stayed hovering above the cup. Harry frowned and looked up in confusion to see a bright smile and amusedly shining eyes. The man watched him with anticipation and a slightly cocked head.

“Excuse me?” the barista asked to make sure he had heard correctly.

“You can write Batman on it. That way I know it’s my coffee and not someone else’s who’s got the same name, you know?” came the explanation and okay- it’s a plausible thought but why the name of a superhero and not one of a normal person?

Too dumbfounded to question it any more, Harry decided to just suck it up and write Batman on the cup. Then he proceeded to brew the guy’s coffee while “Batman” counted his money to pay for the drink. He slid over a few notes and told Harry to keep the change - Harry wasn’t sure if he had imagined the wink that followed those words. He probably did.

When the coffee was ready and put into the cup, Harry put the lid on it and placed it on the counter for the man to take. “Here you go, Batman. Save the world, will you?” he joked with a smile.

Batman laughed, shook his head and mumbled while turning around to go: “I’ll save the world for you, babe.”

If Harry choked and almost fell into the pieces of mug on the floor, nobody had the right to judge him.

—-

Weeks went by and every day Batman stopped by to buy a large white filter coffee To Go and he soon became another regular. But never ever did Harry learn this stranger’s, who was and wasn’t a stranger at the same time, name. Every day he’d walk up to Harry’s counter, ordering his coffee and coming up with a different name after Harry asked him who the coffee was for, always hoping to finally find out the pretty boy’s real name. He never did.

He had to admit he liked the variety of names. They were mostly superhero names like Batman on the first day, Flash and Superwoman but also names of Disney characters like Simba and Pinocchio. Sometimes they were common names, for example Joseph and it could have been his real name of course but Harry always thought the name didn’t suit his pretty stranger.

Oh yeah, he started referring to him as his pretty stranger and Louis and Liam, his friends, started to getting annoyed by his crush about two days after his first meeting with the man.

Today was Harry’s birthday though and he decided to try forcing his pretty stranger to tell him his real name.

And so it went.

The brown haired man entered “Hugs With Mugs” at around 10am and marched up to the counter where Harry waited for him like every day.

“The usual?” he asked and the man with the sparkling blue eyes nodded, already taking out his money.

“You know,” Harry started while turning on the coffee machine and taking out a paper cup and pen, “it’s my birthday today.

Batman looked up in surprise. “Is it now? How old?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know” Harry laughed. “How old do you think I am?”

“Someone looking like you do is probably immortal and stays beautiful for the rest of their life but is actually like a 1000 years old.”

Harry blinked in confusion. “I don’t know if that’s supposed to be a compliment.”

His pretty stranger just laughed and shook his head. “For you, that’s a compliment. Happy birthday, H.”

And- okay. Harry wore a name tag so it didn’t come as a surprise that Batman knew his name but where did that nickname come from? He liked it, he really did but it came unexpected is all.

“Thank you. You know what I want for my birthday?” he asked and the blue eyed man shook his head, looking back into his own green ones while waiting for an elaboration.

“To know your real name. I want to be able to call you by your real name and not just my pr- eh, Batman or whatever name you fought of that day.” Harry almost revealed his secret little crush but was able to just hold back.

His pretty stranger seemed to think for a second before his eyes lit up and he smiled right at Harry which made said barista feel almost dizzy. “You know what? I think I’ll drink my coffee here today. Could you bring it over to the table when it’s ready?” he asked, ignoring Harry’s words completely. It made Harry feel almost... sad? But he nodded anyways, turning away from Batman to finish his order.

Instead of a paper cup, he took a ceramic mug and filled it with coffee, adding milk and finishing it off with a biscuit. He put it all on a tablet and turned towards the tables where he found his pretty stranger sitting on the other side of the shop, right next to the big window. Coughing away the cramped up emotions in his throat, he made his way through the other customers and towards Batman.

“Here you go” Harry said, putting the tablet down without looking at the blue eyed man and nodding after he heard him say a cheerful “thanks”. He walked back to the counter with long strides and made sure to keep busy while purposefully ignoring his pretty stranger.

About half an hour later, Harry looked up, having heard the ringing of the bell above the door. He could just see the telltale brown hair and the black coat of Batman before the door closed behind him, cutting the shop off of the outside once more.

With a sigh, Harry slowly walked back over to the table the pretty boy sat at to clean up the mugs and tablet. While doing so he couldn’t help but notice a piece of paper Batman must’ve forgotten and Harry know -he knows okay?- that he shouldn’t read it but his curiousity was bigger than his sense of what’s right so he did what needed to be done and read the paper.

What he didn’t expect was for it to be addressed to Harry himself.

‘Happy birthday, H.

You have to excuse my terrible sense of humour and my disgusting love for being mysterious. Sometimes I just don’t know when to stop but I think it’s time to take off my mask (I’m a big superhero fan if you haven’t noticed already).

Anyways, it’s your birthday today and birthday boys aren’t allowed to spend their evening alone. You’d make me the happiest person alive if you let me take you out on a date tonight.

Here’s my number if you’ve decided to forgive my game of playing the mysterious customer I’ve always wanted to be: *insert phone number here*

Love,

Niall’

And Harry smiled because he finally got to know his pretty stranger’s real name.


End file.
